Iron Maiden
by ShadowAbsol13
Summary: In which Amy writes an antipepperony fic that offends Fantom but she continues to post ANYWAY.


I stepped off the plane and grabbed my luggage. I had just flown in from New York all the way to Malibu. Coast to coast. I was looking for employment. I settled into my apartment easily and then searched for the place indicated on the card given to me. Some man knew I was looking for a job and he gave me this card. I can't remember his name. I think it was... Nick? Yes, it was Nick. I did not catch the last name. He was a strange man, but I hoped he would lead me to something great. The card told me to go to "Stark Industries".

I drove my car up to the large building, which also seemed to be a house. I walked up to the front step and rang the doorbell. A redhead answered the door and smiled, "Yes?" I handed her the card that led me here and replied, "I'm Amy Azul." She examined the card "Oh! You must be the one who scheduled the interview." I nodded. She gestured for me to come in and led me to a large room with an overlooking window and a desk with chairs on either side. I sat in one of the chairs that was not open to the computer, obviously the guest chair. "He will be with you in just a moment." The lady smiled. I sat patiently awaiting his arrival.

The door swung open and he strolled in, not looking up from my documents. He sat down at his desk, still not making any eye contact whatsoever. He started with a few questions "So, Miss Azul, is it? If I were to summarize your résumé, it says you have some experience in engineering, you often create ads easily, and you do a great deal of help financially." I nodded, not knowing if he saw me or not. "Well," he rubbed his goatee "I believe all of our positions are full..." his voice trailed off as he heard my sigh. He looked up and his attitude seemed to change. I saw his eyes sparkle, as if he saw some sort of a prize. "But I think you can be assistant secretary for now. What do you say?" He stared at me. "Oh, yes! Thank you, Mr. Stark!" I said excitedly. He grinned. "Please," he winked "Call me Tony."

It turns out the redhead who greeted me was the secretary, and I was to be her assistant. She seemed really nice, her name was Pepper. She walked me through all of the building except downstairs. She said that it was top-secret and you could only go down there if you were an official employee. She said that she was once the CEO of the company. I didn't ask what happened. Soon, the day was over and I returned back to my apartment and relaxed. I still knew nothing of this place, but I had made it a great first day. I was completely settled in and ready to tackle another day.

The next day was basic paperwork, nothing much. It was simple and nothing too interesting. A lot of faxing and bills. This is where the money was. The day had only seem to have begun by the time my lunch break swerved about. I was on my way to McDonald's, it was just going to be a simple lunch. Because it was a simple day. In my simple life. I was just finding a parking space when out of nowhere it toppled over. It went flying, as I was inside it.

Great. Just what I needed. My beautiful sapphire Mercedes. It tossed and turned and headed towards a river. It didn't just topple, though. It had to have been hit by something. But by what? As the car was spinning I could see strange colors streaking the sky. What ere they? Some sort of fireworks or planes or... Lasers? No. It couldn't be. But something was going on. I fell down a steep hill and was plunging into the water.

But I didn't. Suddenly, my car door was ripped open and someone pulled me out and held me. Watching my car tumble into the river, I realized I was floating. Or whoever was holding me was. And there, I beheld a metal man of crimson and gold, floating with rockets, holding me above the water. He flew me over back to the McDonald's and told me to be he flew off with the slight trail of smoke. I didn't know who he was, but he just saved me. Luckily, my purse was strapped onto my shoulder the whole time, so my money and phone were saved. I bought a sandwich and tried to hurry back to Stark Industries. I was going to be in big trouble.

I return to the building, out of breath. I try to explain to Pepper who was freaking out. Mr. Stark seemed to understand completely. He was a really laid-back guy, but it still felt like he had been hiding something. We finished up the day normally and I had to look into getting a rental car. But, Mr. Stark approached me and said I could borrow one of his cars. "Really? Are... I don't think..." He put his hand up for emphasis "Seriously. Just take one. How about the Saleen S7?" I was shocked. He was really nice to me. Too nice, it seemed. But he insisted. So I do as he said. "Not a scratch." He wagged a finger. "Just as long as it gets back by Friday." He winked at me.

The next morning I read the headline of the newspaper. It read: "**Iron Man Saves The City Again**" And the picture showed none other than the metal-suited man who saved me. Coincidentally, I was there in his arms, looking up at him. It was a neat picture. The caption said "Iron Man rescuing a victim from falling into the river" I took one more sip of my coffee and darted out the door. I wasnt able to read the rest. "Iron Man." I said to myself. The one who saved me. I kept thinking about the suited man all day, getting drawn from my work. It was quite amazing. It wasn't a drone, but a man. It had to be. But... Who? I would find out when I had the time.

Mr. Stark really appreciated my help. He was always super kind and he always winked at me. He let me pilot a few of his jets every now and then. I was ever-so-happy when he let me test out the ammo. It was fun to blow things up. He liked that too. It was fun for the both of us. He was quite handsome, too. But I couldn't let that get in the way of my work. He was my boss. It would be... Awkward. Plus, I was pretty sure he liked Pepper. Well, I was positive that she liked him. She went on and on about him. Very annoying. She also mentioned he was quite the playboy.

Every now and then Mr. Stark would just disappear. He would always come back though. I returned his car after I got a nice white Mustang. I really liked it. With the money I had before, plus my paychecks now, it was very affordable. I said goodbye to Mr. Stark and Pepper. Once again he insisted on calling him Tony. "Goodbye, Tony." I giggled.

I drove home in the nice feel of my warm car. I took in a deep breath. Ah. Nothing like the smell of a new car. I made it home safely, and I was glad there wasn't any more havoc. I had gladly got dressed and ready for bed. But then I heard a tapping noise. It was coming from the window of my balcony. I walked over and opened the doors. I felt a gust of cool air with a sweet smell. It felt nice to let the wind blow through my dirty-blonde hair. It had been a while. I looked out, overlooking a beach. So calm and peaceful. I stared up at the beautiful full moon and soaked up it aura streaming down upon me. Wow. I couldn't believe how beautiful Malibu was.

Just then I was awakened from my daydream when a metal mask hung from above my balcony. I jumped backward and screamed. At first I thought it was Iron Man, but the mask was different. It was a little similar, but silver and black with a different shape to it and red eye-light. The wearer swooped me up and took me to the top of a tower. It was the Stark Tower. Then he spoke in a deep voice "Where is he? Where is Stark?" I was confused and scared "I don't know!" He advanced on me, leaning me up against a wall. "I have been watching you. I have noticed you are very close to Stark..." Then he easily put his steel hand to my neck and lifted me. "Where?" he demanded. I stood there dangling, out of breath. I couldn't speak. "Tell me his secrets." he pressed harder. I started to cough. I was sure I was going to either black out or die just then. I couldn't bear much longer. But then, with the faintness in my eyes, I saw him. Was it just an illusion of my dying brain? No.

Iron Man gracefully landed and the other released me from his grip and I collapsed on the ground. My wire glasses had been shook off my thin nose. Luckily, the did not break. I lay there for a while, catching my breath. But also watching the battle happening then and there. They blasted at each other, and it was intense. The suited man, in which whom choked me, looked like the Iron Man, except more complex and bulkier. I heard Iron Man shout "Seriously, Hammer? This is a new low for you." He simply blasted a bit of arc power and the offender was throw off the tower. Unsurprisingly, he had a flight ability. He quickly flew away calling "This won't be the last time!" Iron Man just shrugged and turned to me.

"You okay?" he gestured towards me. I nodded unsurely. I then replied, "Who... Who are you?" He chuckled to himself a bit and looked up to the moon. "Did you not read the paper? Everyone knows who I am." He then approached me and his mask slowly unfolded. I was shocked. Could it be? It was. "Mr. Stark?" I gasped. He once again laughed. "For the last time, call me Tony." I was still in a daze. Tony noticed and continued. "Yes, this explains most of it. But you are new to Malibu. Oh well." I looked past him to the sky where the strange man flew off. "Who was he? Why did he do that?" Tony took it as a joke once more. "That was my rival. Justin Hammer. He has wanted to destroy me for quite a while now. Supposedly he got out of jail. He must have seen how close you and I were and wanted to pry something out of you." I understood now.

I looked over the balcony. Another breathtaking sight in Malibu. I then started to sweat. "Uh. How am I going to get home?" I stuttered. Tony shrugged. "I guess I'll fly you there. I started to shudder. "You afraid of heights?" I reluctantly nodded. I was terrified. Flying a jet was one thing. The surrounding of the jet made me feel safe. Other than that, no. He laughed once more, as if everything amused him. "Here." he said, opening up his arms. He moved forward and held me in a bridal-carry style. Just like when he rescued me the first time. He flew all the way to the balcony of my apartment and set me down. "Now, that wasn't do bad, was it?" he winked. There it was again. That wink. We said goodnight and I closed the door as he flew off in the moonlight. I then went to sleep.

The next day was also completely normal. I didn't speak of Tony's superhero secret, even though he told me everyone knew. He supposedly told Pepper because on her lunch break she mentioned him. "Second time getting saved by him, huh?" She said. "Yeah. I hope it doesn't become a habit." I bit into my sandwich. Pepper took a quick sip of her drink and snapped. "I sure hope not." I laughed trying to be friendly but she ignored it. "So he told you, didn't he?" She turned and softened a bit. "Of course. How did you know?" I smiled and played with a silver bracelet. "Well, it wasn't public at all, and it obviously wasn't in the news. So how else could you find out?" She gave a shrug and continued eating. Tony obviously trusted her with everything. I wasn't surprised.

It went on normally for quite some time. I had been moved up and a more "official" employee. Every now and thenI would come to Tony while he was in the middle of brainstorming greatness. It was truly amazing. All of his technology, the mathematics, he was an Einstein. He had the brawns and the brains, he had successfully stolen my heart. But it would be too awkward. He was my boss and it just couldn't work out well that way. But I still strived to be the best. I had to prove to him I could do things, and not always have to be rescued by him.

He had a great annual Stark Expo, in which he honored himself and all of Stark Industries in accomplishments. I helped to organize it this year-round. I was so excited and knew that I could do this. He would begin with his regular entrance, that was mandatory. And the video of hus father. But I think I could improve some things with just a little twist. There would be more merchandise in the expo than usual, a whole store rather than just a little cart. And Tony would have more time with the fans when signing autographs and such. It was going to be great. I couldn't wait. I hoped that everyone could see how amazing this Stark Expo would be.

The expo came before I knew it. The whole thing was a blast. We made more financial reports in stocks and the money kept coming in. It was our best year yet. There were so many children who bought all the cool toys and posters. They all loved it. Even I did. It was a big hit with lots of money. What more could I say? I feel I did a pretty good job.

Afterward, there was a party for just Stark Industries, celebrating our great accomplishments. I came wearing a sparkling sapphire backless dress. My dirty-blonde hair fell just below my shoulders with a graceful curl. I wore some black heels and a silver necklace tha complimented my glasses. Mr. Stark, or Tony I should say, looked as handsome as ever in his tux. Tony stepped up to the mic. "Everyone. I would like to thank you all for your hard work in making this another great Stark Expo." everyone cheered. Tony applauded and it settled down. "But," he continued "I would really like to thank Miss Azul in particular." He held out a hand to me and everyone watched. He led me up the stage and proceeded. "This new recruit here gave us our biggest finances yet!" The whole room cheered once more. Then, he concluded. "Enjoy the party!" Everyone departed and went about themselves. Then Tony turned to me. "Thank you Amy." I smiled and replied, "I couldn't thank you more."

I stood outside on the balcony which overlooked the beach, and stared up at the beaming crescent moon. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Tony appeared behind me. I turned and smiled. "Very. Malibu is wonderful." He glanced up at the stars acknowledging my words. "I want to thank you again..." I stopped him "You don't have to. Seriously." His eyes focused on me. "You have done a great job for your first few months at Stark Industries." Well, at least he noticed my improvement "Thank you." I said almost in a whisper. After a awkward silence, he finally broke it. "You look beautiful." I felt my face turn hot. I must have been a violent red. But I still responded. "As do you. I-I mean, you look very handsome- you, I. Ugh." I facepalmed. I had totally just embarrassed myself.

He took my hand and led it away from my head, forcing me to look into his eyes. He held it softly but firmly. "Do you have any requests, Miss Azul?" he asked. I shook my head. "No, Mr. Stark." He then gave me the 'call-me-Tony' look. I then giggled a bit. "You have a lovely laugh." he pointed out. I realized what was happening. I stared him in the eyes in thought. "I never noticed, but your eyes are the same color of the moonlight reflecting off of the ocean." I broke the handheld. "No." I turned away. "I can't do this. You're my boss and it's awkward and..." He stepped closer. "It doesn't have to be." I spun around and stuck a finger in his face. "No. I know that you are a playboy. I can't do this. It doesn't work. And when it doesn't work that makes my job at Stark Industries hard." I argued with him. He simply sat there and waited until I was finished. Afterwards, he grabbed me by the arms and pressed his lips against mine as I reluctantly melted into his grip.

Tony and I grew closer, and I suspected ever since the party we were technically dating. Pepper noticed this. She got very mad. But not at Tony, her former boyfriend whom she herself squad was a playboy. No. She got mad at me. She always would argue with about every single thing. I started moving up in ranking in the business and she felt wasted. We didn't even go to lunch together anymore. I remember when I first started here, she was always so nice and didn't seem to have a care I the world. Now she was very stressful and hated me. I guess I had to deal with it.

We didn't encounter any more problems with Hammer for quite some time. It seemed like he had just... Vanished. He was probably hiding away somewhere, plotting something horrible. He must be trying to hit him at his weak spot. If he knew about me and Tony... It could be easy. We will just have to keep our guard up. But it's nothing much to worry about. Tony has beat him quite a few times, so it's quite fine.

I rushed through most of my work quickly. But still with accuracy. Soon, my time to leave came. "See you tonight." Tony said with a hug goodbye. We were going to have our official first date tonight. I drove home and dressed myself up. I wore a crimson top with a gold miniskirt. I had some red high-heel boots and golden accessories here and there. I curled my hair and headed out the door. I dress like some sort of female counterpart to Iron Man. Tony picked me up in his Audi R8, wearing a nice suit with red cufflinks. He also had a golden tint on his signature sunglasses. We matched, and it was not for us, but for the people.

When we arrived, we were not surprised to see a bunch of screaming paparazzi. So many were crazing over Tony, but then they saw me. The kept wondering who I was. It was obvious we were dating when we walked in holding hands and the whole "Table for Two" concept. It was hard to eat, but we managed. Once we finished, we finally made it through the flood of people who crowded us. Tony quickly drove us away to his house, and we sat on the balcony of the house overlooking the beach. I cuddled in his arms while he laid his head ontop of mine. All was peaceful, quiet and the night was as gorgeous as ever.

And then it all fell apart. All of that wonder and love, that one moment, shattered. Hammer, in his bulky suit, crashed onto the balcony. He caught us at our most vulnerable. "I have you now, Stark!" He shouted. Tony jumped up and searched for his portable suit. Hammer loaded his gun. "No!" I jumped up, stalling for time. Hammer focused on me. "What can you do, little girl?" he chuckled. I ignored the comment. "If you want him, you'll have to go through me!" Hammet cackled once more. "Easy." With a simple click he fired his gun right into my side and I collapsed to the ground. "Amy!" Tony shouted from over in the corner. He found his suit and attatched it. He started to fight Hammer, but I wasn't sure what happened next. Blood poured our all over the floor. The bullet went straight through my liver. All the way out my back. It hurt immensely. I started to cry, holding my side. I was dying. It hurt so terribly. I couldn't even describe the excruciating pain. I started to cough, and blood emerged from my mouth. This was it. I took one last glance at Tony. I saw an explosion. I didn't know who survived. Everything went black and it was over.

"Amy!" I heard. It was Tony. It was only my dying brain playing tricks. "Amy!" I heard it again. It wasn't my brain. It was real. I opened my eyes and saw a bright light bestowed upon me. After my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw I was in Tony's lab. "Tony!" I shouted excitedly. He bent over and gave me a hug. I winced and felt my side. I was wearing one of Tony's shirts, because it was way too big. It had been healed, Tony had saved me. I sat up. "What happened?" I groaned. He explained. "Hammer attacked us and you got shot. You almost died but I saved you." I understood. "And Hammer?" he nodded. "I blew him up." I looked down to my side to see the injury but noticed something strange. There was a light emitting from the shirt. I pulled out the neck hole and peered in. There, right in the center of my chest, was none other than an Arc Reactor.

"Tony!" I said surprised, "This is how you saved me?" I pointed at my chest. "Yep." He knocked on his Reactor, making a clanging sound. "Just like mine." I sat there confused. "Why? Why this?" He held my hand. "It was the only way I could save you." He smiled. I felt my side once again, and then rubbed my Arc Reactor. "Wait." I realized. "If you put that there, that means you saw..." Tony laughed and winked. "Yes." I punched him in the jaw. "Ow." He rubbed his mouth. He knew he deserved it. "Thank you." I told him with a hug.

Life was pretty normal. There wasn't really anything different. I just had to wear thicker shirts and maybe a jacket now and then. I couldn't let the Arc Reactor show. Especially not Pepper. She would be so mad. She would feel unloved by Tony and let all her hate out on me, not at all on Tony. Once it was out in public that Tony and I were dating, I had a lot of random people show up at my apartment. They didn't know who I was, but I was with Tony, and that's what brought on the Paparazzi. I had to be careful going places now. It was even awkward going to Wal-Mart. I'd have to get used to it. Hey, at least I was alive. That was good enough. I rubbed the reactor every now and then when nobody was looking. Tony had told me once before his Arc Reactor had almost killed him. But he assured me this was the 'new-and-improved' version.

Soon it became June, and my birthday was drawing near. I couldn't wait. Tony kept going on and on about how we would have this big party at his house and it would be full of people. "They'll be there for _you_, not _me_." I poked him. "Not entirely true." He took a bite of his donut. He told me there would be a big surprise in store. I couldn't figure out what. As the 9th drew nearer, I became more and more excited. I had never had a party that was going to be this big. Soon, the night of my birthday was here, and the party began.

I came wearing a black cami and an emerald miniskirt. I had my black boots reach up to my knees and some gree hoops and bracelets. Tony and I stepped up to the stage. Tony began. "I would like to thank all of you for coming," He gestured to me. "For Amy's birthday on this ninth of June!" Everyone cheered. Tony gave up the mic for me."Thank you all," I blushed. "This really means alot to me. Enjoy the party!" They all cheered once more and began their normal party behavior.

Tony took me past a table piled high with colorful presents. "Which one's yours?" I giggled. He kept walking, pulling me by the hand. "Not here." He led me downstairs and into his lab, and I was still so very confused. "Jarvis." He said. His little robot popped up and addressed him. "Yes, Mr. Stark?" Tony glanced at me and then back to Jarvis. "Bring in the Iron Maiden."

Jarvis quickly retracted and a suit was brought down. At a first glance it seemed to be an ordinary Iron man suit. But if you looked closer, it was feminine. The mask was softer features but still Iron Man-looking. There was a sturdy breast-plate and the feet were high-heels. And attached to the waist was a golden metal miniskirt. Ah yes. The miniskirts. Tony loved them. It was wonderful, and it was all for me. I jumped into Tony's arms. "Oh! Thank you!" He hugged me and planted a kiss on my forehead. I turned back towards the suit. "It's perfect." Tony smiled and then acknowledged me. "Want to test it out?"

Without my answer, Jarvis assembled the suit onto me, and my reactor powered the whole thing. I saw the computer stats lighting up the eye-light and Jarvis welcomed me. "Hello, Miss Azul." He said programmed. Tony had already suited up. "You ready?" I nodded, slightly scared. I was going to learn how to fly. "Jarvis, start at 1.5 power for her." He commanded. Tony held his hands out to demonstrate. I followed the demonstration. Once I was in position, he counted down. "Three, two, one..."

The jets from my heels and my palms ignited and I hovered above the ground. I could feel my chest vibrate as power surged throughout my body. It was exhilarating, this ability of flight. Tony laughed. "Very good. Up it to 3.0, Jarvis." I blasted higher. He kept pushing my height until finally we went outside. Then we flew at amazing heights. I was so high, and it was fun. But then I realized how high I was and started freaking out. "Tony..." I started to sweat. "I can't do this..." He grabbed my hand "It's okay. I'm right here."

I felt I had finally got over my fear of heights. I felt so free to not be afraid any more. It was wonderful. Tony saw I had mastered flight. "Okay. Now to try firepower." We landed on top of the Stark Tower and he demonstrated by shooting up like he was trying to hit the moon. I copied the hand form and blasted some Arc out of my palm. It was a little intense at first, but I got used to it. "Good. Now for aiming." We flew back to his house and landed on the balcony. Everyone was still at the party no one even noticed we were gone.

"What do I shoot?" I asked Tony. He started to chuckle. "Jarvis. Commence aiming sequence." At the command Jarvis started to throw frisbees in the air, and Tony shot one. "Now you try." I aimed for the next one, and missed hopelessly. But, after a few more tries, I got the hang of it. "So I guess I'm your new partner, huh?" I cocked my head. He gave me a look. "More like 'sidekick'. You still need more practice." We laughed and we got out of our suits and back to the party. He led me out to the balcony where we had our first kiss.

"So, what did you call that suit?" I asked. Tony looked to the moon. "Iron Maiden." He kept staring. I twittled with my fingers. "Neat name." He nodded. He wouldn't take his eyes off the moon. "Something wrong, Tony?" I questioned worriedly. He shook his head and focus back on me. "No, I just thought I saw something." For that strange moment I felt uneasy, but it all settled down after having a wonderful party. Tony gave me the suit to keep in its portable form.

I slept in the next morning and felt groggy when I got up. I washed my face and brushed my teeth. I grabbed my glasses and got a glance of the time. I was really late. I rushed through traffic and of course got stuck at every red light. Just when I was about halfway there, my car was hit. Yes. Again. Wonderful. It was Hammer. After me again. I jumped out of my car as soon as it stopped rolling and noticed I never brought my suit inside. It was in the car. I grabbed it and put it on, transforming ever-so-quickly. I flew up and almost blasted Hammer in the head, but he dodged it. Sure enough, Tony came and fought by my side. We blasted and dodged and kicked. But after all of that, Hammer was finally defeated and was taken to jail.

Then the paparazzi poured in. First they vented to Tony. He opened up his mask and explained. And then there was the long-awaited question. "Who was fighting by your side?" I stepped up beside him and spoke, my voice all digitized. "I am the Iron Maiden." more and more questions came after that and Tony nodded towards me, indicating I should take off my mask. The mask retracted and the people gasped. "Who are you?" asked a reporter. "I am Amy Azul." I answered. They took many pictures and I felt so happy and complete. All of the sudden Tony grabbed me and pulled me in for a big kiss, not just to show the crowd, but for us. It was official. I was Iron Maiden.


End file.
